Homily Fr Brian Russell CSsR RIP...
Homily at the Funeral Mass of
Fr Brian Russell CSsR RIP
23rd March 2021
Preacher - Bishop Ralph Heskett CSsR
The short reading from the prophet Isaiah that we heard a few moments ago is one of the readings that hear most frequently at gatherings such as this. I guess it is not difficult to know why. It is full of promise. In particular, it speaks of two promises that the Lord makes through the prophet that we put our hope in today as we gather around Brian in prayer for the last time. The first is the promise of a new world order where we will be recipients of the generous and gracious hospitality of our God and sit at table with him.
On this mountain, the Lord of hosts will prepare for all peoples a banquet of rich food.
Secondly it speaks of a future where the long curse of death has been defeated. Death will be no more.
He will remove the mourning veil covering all peoples .... he will destroy death forever.
The Lord’s promise spoken through the Prophet Isaiah find-their-fulfilment in the person of Jesus. This was the revelation to the two disciples. But not at first you will recall. It is hard to imagine that you could meet the risen Lord and not recognise him. But it happened to our two friends on the road to Emmaus. However, in the part of the story we hear today, without knowing it initially, they shared in the first meal of the new creation, "he took the bread and said the blessing; then he broke it and handed it to them." Then, Luke tells us, their eyes were opened and they recognised Jesus, risen and alive. In Jesus, it is revealed to them that long curse of death has been broken and death defeated.
It is our trust in God's promises and our belief in their fulfilment in Jesus that gathers around the altar today to bid farewell to Brian and to commend him to the loving kindness of our God - something he did himself for others many times in his ministry during his life.
My earliest real recollection of Brian was his ordination. You will recall that, breaking with tradition, Brian, Gerry Mulligan and Tony Charlton were ordained at St Benet's. I was a very proud 13-year-old buja-bearer!
My next encounter was three years later, the year I spent at the Juvenate. Brian didn't teach me, but he was always around, I think as Socius to Jack Clancy He was young so popular with the many of juvenists. However, they had the measure of him and one of the things that amused me was that they knew exactly how-to wind-up Brian -and they often did! Brian and Jack Clancy spent a lot of their spare time raising money through the collection of waste-paper and earned themselves the nickname among the Juvenists and beyond, I think: Steptoe and son.
He had a kindness about him that we did not always see. On a personal note, the event that highlights this me is something I've often mentioned before, but as one of our confreres used to say, "I think it bears repetition." As a 17-yearold, it was Brian who saw me off to the noviciate with my grandmother at Sunderland. I can still see them both waving from the platform as the train pulled away. It was only years later that I came to realise what a significant moment it would have been for my grandmother. I would like to think that Brian knew and that is why he was there with her on that day. But nor must we forget other examples, not least his involvement in, and commitment to, HCPT over many years along with Terry Creech.
Brian always had a cause and was never afraid to take up the cudgels and challenge a perceived injustice, real or imaginary. Whatever apostolate that Brian was engaged in at one time whether it was the parish, parish missions, school missions, retreats, care for the homeless, in his eyes, it was the only real Redemptorist apostolate that was happening in the province and his way was always the best way to do it. And he believed it. In a strange way, it was probably good for him that he did because it made him single-minded in his purpose and gave him an enthusiasm for whatever he was doing.
So, as we gather around Brian in prayer we ask that his good deeds go with him, that the Lord will look kindly on his shortcomings and welcome him to the banquet promised. Eternal rest ........
